Jose Mourinho has launched a defence of his tactics in Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool, insisting Tottenham had no choice but to be “pragmatic” against the runaway League leaders.
Asked what Spurs must do to build a winning mentality, Mourinho told Standard Sport: “It helps to [always] have the mentality to win the next match. It doesn't matter which competition it is, how many injuries we have or what you're trying to be.
“To have imagination, to be creative, to try to build something that can make you believe you can win the match, just like we were convinced we could beat Liverpool, that's the way you create a winning mentality.
“You go for every game and you try, even if you have to be more strategic than philosophical. Philosophical is when you follow a certain philosophy and everything is in place to follow it.
“But another thing is when you're in trouble and you have to be pragmatic, creative and try to build something. That's what we did against Liverpool.
“We tried to create something. Even the game plan, not just the way we started the game but the overall game plan, we tried to be in conditions to win. If I start the game the same way we played the last 25 minutes, we couldn't [maintain it]. Lamela couldn't play 90 minutes that way, Giovani didn't have the intensity to play that game for 90 minutes.
“You have to try to give the players that winning mentality even when you are in a difficult situation like we are. And that's what we want to do. So [on Tuesday] we try again, we try to win again.”
Mourinho added: “I think by the reaction of the fans against Liverpool, they understood that the players did everything in that game and they didn't get what they deserve. For a team that loses a match, it's a very good feeling.”
"You can talk about philosophy or you can talk about trying to achieve the maximum you can,” Mourinho said. “And you can try to do both at the same time which is what I tried to do since day one. I had two days of work and I think against West Ham we showed by glimpses — without that dynamic and autonomism — what we wanted to create. In this moment, it's difficult. So let's fight.”.